An Adventure for Every Monster - Demon, Type V

Frequency     Rare
No. appearing 1-3 or 1-6
Armour class  –7/-5
Move  12”
Hit Dice 7+7
Percentage in lair 10%    
Treasure type G
No. of attacks 7
Damage per attack 2-8 & 6 varying    
Special attack  See below
Special defences +1 or better weapon to hit
Magic Resistance 80%
Intelligence High
Alignment Chaotic Evil
Size  L (7’ tall)
THAC0  12
XP value 3000 + 12/hp

Abilities:

Cause Darkness, 10’ radius at will
Create illusion
Cause Fear
Levitate
Detect Magic
Read Languages
Dispel Magic
Polymorph Self
Telekinese 5000gp weight
Project Image
Use Symbol of Fear or Discord
Gate in a demon of Type I to IV (60% chance of success)
Infravision
Darkness
Teleportation


Demons, just like everybody else, dream. However, being demons, those dreams are typically demonic. Just how much trouble this can cause, we will now relate.

Our adventure takes place in an area of neglected countryside near a small town that is experiencing an influx of settlers, prospectors and, of course, adventurers. The town has its problems, as does any frontier town, but recently, those problems include three very grisly murders; all of young, handsome men who have been literally ripped to pieces. The town constable is perturbed to say the least, as are many of the menfolk of the town. In fact, the party may well find when they arrive that the streets are a lot quieter than they are used to and many males stay behind locked doors at night.

What could be causing this wave of consternation? The answer lies several miles outside town, in an old and almost forgotten temple, once the haunt of a cult of the Snake God, now however a lurking place for another (albeit similar) cult. This one worships Lazulari, a Type V demon who, as many of her kind tend to do, has required the regular sacrifice of strong warriors. Fortunately, there seems to be a regular supply of them in the town, where her cult members have been busy as of late. They’re not, however, the ones doing the horrific murders.

Lazulari is not the demon she once was. Until a few weeks ago, she gladly accepted the offerings made by her cultists; warriors would be brought to the temple, held till the day of the sacrifice and then slain on Lazulari’s altar. She would then channel the demonic energies to her cultists and everyone would go away happy.

That is, until her cultists brought her Jerrif, a fighter who was, shall we say, rather on the handsome side, ostensibly Chaotic Neutral but with a hidden tendency towards acts of badness. Lazulari sensed the evil within him but she also found his charisma and looks rather overwhelming. In short, she fell in love with him.

She commanded him imprisoned rather than sacrificed and spent many hours trying to turn him to evil. Jerrif, however, was having none of it and although frustrated and angry, Lazulari could not bring herself to kill him. Nor indeed did she wish to Charm him. That would be cheating. She wanted him to come to her of his own free will. The new feelings she was experiencing have started to manifest in ways that she could not have imagined; romantic dreams were only part of it. She was determined to woo him and set about discovering the strange world of human love.

On three occasions, she has assumed the shape of a young girl and gone into town to see if she can find out the way to a man’s heart and use that knowledge to seduce Jerrif. That plan went badly wrong when the men she chose, although handsome, turned out to be less than gallant and laughed at her attempts at romance. Angered, she assumed her real shape and slaughtered her mocker.

After three attempts, she gave up and set about obtaining, through demonic assistance, tomes and scrolls of a romantic nature to see if they could help in her plan.

Meanwhile, obsessed by dreams of romance, her ability to grant the wishes of her cultists is starting to go decidedly off track. The cult members are now getting rather impatient, if not irritated by her lack of demonic prowess and some are wondering if perhaps they might have better luck with another Type V demon. This is almost certainly the case and it is likely that other Type V demons are already eyeing up the potential.

And what of Jerrif? The poor chap can’t help but be a little nervous of what awaits him. He had heard stories of demon love and what might work for them certainly won’t leave him in very good shape. The human frame just isn’t robust enough. He’s desperate to escape before she gets kinky. 

The party have several opportunities to enter this adventure.

The town constable may hire them to investigate the murders. Clues may well lead them to a young girl present before each murder and her trail may lead back to the temple.

The cultists may well try to hire muscle to aid in their attempt to depose and dispose of Lazulari.

Jerrif’s friends and fellow adventurers aren’t convinced that he’s dead and seek help to track him down. A mischevious DM may plant the seeds in the party’s mind that Jerrif has gone over to the dark side during his imprisonment.

Lazulari herself may be seeking an exit strategy. Knowing that her position in the hierarchy of the Abyss is imperilled by her strange behaviour and suspecting her cult of treachery, she may try to cut a deal with the party if she can approach them in a manner that is not going to cause them immediately to attack. If the party agree to help her, she will not turn on them, provided that she and Jerrif are allowed to stay together. If the party interferes with her plan, she will turn on them.

She will use her treasure either to aid her in combat or to bribe the party to assist her.

12500 gold pieces
525 platinum pieces
4 gems
1 piece of jewellery

Magic items: Any 4 plus one scroll 35%

Given that Jerrif has been reluctant to reciprocate Lazulari’s feelings, it may be that if there is another fighter in the party with a similarly high Charisma (say 16+), then the demon may transfer her sentiments to him.

If the party help her and all goes well, they will have acquired an ally, albeit one that is, like most of her swords, double-edged. The attention of the Authorities of the Abyss will also become more focussed on them with all the bother that this entails.

Ironically, the outcome of this adventure will actually be quite negative for the nearby town if the cult survives and lazulari departs, either killed or into hiding.  A new Type V demon will arrive soon and with no romantic delusions to cloud her mind, will start to wreak havoc in the area. The cultists will also be able to warn her about the party and its abilities, so they will be less likely to be able to take the new demon by surprise.